about

It’s been a lot of music under the bridge. David Tholfsen was singing and playing bass clarinet in those Iowa City art bands Pink Gravy and Elmo Bumpy Taurus. Singing and playing bass for A Domino Theory in Phoenix and Blow in San Francisco. Things settled down in the drummerless electric folk world of U.S. Saucer. Then there was the gap that now has been filled so nicely by strumming a guitar and singing for the Tinnitans. The ringing only gets louder!

Having decided 30 years of feedback drenched guitar with such outfits as Thin White Rope, Acme Rocket Quartet and The Graves Brothers Deluxe is quite enough thank you, Roger Kunkel has taken up the diminutive yet forceful instruments of mandolin and fiddle. Their size and weight advantage increase his flighty nimbleness and promote clean ears and sharp wit. At night he dreams of collapsing stages and rubber houses perched on precarious landscapes. By mid morning, he’s taken his fiddle to the woods and is exploring its fuzz setting.

While engaged in a conversation about Bluegrass music at a party ten years ago, Robert Leigh mentioned that if he were to learn a new instrument it would be the banjo. As the conversation ended, the gentleman Robert was speaking with walked to his shed and came out with a beat up old banjo and said, "You can have this if you promise to clean it up and take some lessons." And so he did. In addition to The Tinnitans, Robert has played drums in the Berkeley California band The Happy Clams for almost twenty years.

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about

The TinnitansSan Leandro, California

David Tholfsen (US Saucer) and Robert Leigh (The Happy Clams) met several years ago through a Craigslist post for a weekly
bluegrass jam hosted by Robert at his home. The weekly jam disbanded and The Tinnitans were born. David Tholfsen met Roger Kunkel (Thin White Rope) while camping and invited him to sit in leading to the recording of Well Well....more